Love Hurts
by MarieCarro
Summary: When they were eight, they became best friends. When they were eleven, he fell in love, but not until they were twenty-five did her get to keep her forever. A Love is Strange Outtake One-Shot story, EPOV, Rated M for Mature Content. WARNING: Lemony scene with OC occurs.


**A/N: **Ok, I know I told you I wanted to get this out in the middle of August and now it's already September, but believe me when I tell you that I have no idea where August went. One second it was here, and now its passed, leaving me completely bewildered. O_o

Anyway, here it is, just as I promised :-D I hope you'll enjoy it!

The story was looked over by Chardae Goose Brell, but apparently it didn't need a lot of beta'ing x)

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**LOVE HURTS**

**A Love is Strange One-Shot Outtake Story**

**BY**

**MARIECARRO**

* * *

**FIRST MEETING**

**October 1995**

"Edward, come back here! I want to play!"

"Play with your dolls, Alice, and leave me alone."

Alice grabbed my arm and forced me to turn around. "You promised Mom and Dad that you wouldn't leave _me_ alone," she said with an angry pout and I rolled my eyes at her. Sometimes, my twin sister could really irritate me to death.

Yes, it was true that I made that promise, but it wasn't like I would go far. We were all on the playground, and there were plenty of girls that Alice could play with.

"Why don't you play with the other girls? I'm sure they would love to see your new doll."

Alice's pout grew. "I don't know them. We have only lived here for a week. What if they don't like me?"

"Well, you won't ever find out if you avoid them."

She started to pull on my arm, but I refused to go back to where she had left her toys. "Come on, Edward," she whined. "Can't you just play with me for this recess? I'll talk with the other girls tomorrow, I promise."

I retracted my arm from her hold and shook my head. "No. If you want to play, you go to the other girls right now."

Alice's eyes became blank and I did everything I could to not show her what her tears did to me.

"Why are you so mean to me?" she asked in a small voice.

"Because I don't play with dolls, Alice. I'm a boy, and I want to play with other boys." With that said, I once again turned around and walked away from Alice.

"I will tell Mom and Dad about this!" she yelled after me. I cringed at that. I would probably get grounded for what I'd done.

But Alice needed to learn to take care of herself. She couldn't always rely on me.

"Robin, leave me alone!" I heard a girl's voice scream, and I looked around to see where it came from.

A dark-haired girl in my age was reaching for a book that a much older boy was holding above his head, too far out of her reach. He was laughing at her while tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Anger coursed through me at what I saw, but I didn't dare to move. The older boy wasn't alone, and I was sure they would turn on me if I went up to them.

So, being the coward that I was, I stayed in my spot and saw the entire scene play out in front of me.

The older boy threw the book down on the ground and stomped on it, which caused the girl to cry even harder.

"Stupid girl! You're a dork. Always sitting and reading, thinking you're better than the rest of us!" he yelled at the girl, who was sitting on the ground by now, trying to save the remains of the book.

She looked up at him. "I do not think like that!"

"Oh, don't you? What is it now? You gonna cry some more?" The boy sneered at her, and the others behind him laughed with him. The smug smirk on the boy's lips told me that he was very pleased with himself, and I hated him even more for it. If I had only been bigger, I would have taught him a thing or two about bullying; especially bullying younger girls.

But having been bullied myself before had left a mark, and I was afraid to go down that road again. I didn't want to become a victim of this bully.

However, when the boy retrieved the book from the ground and threw it at the girl, which caused her forehead to bleed, I couldn't stay away anymore. The girl was now physically injured and being the son of a doctor, I just couldn't ignore that.

The boy and his gang quickly left the scene, and I walked slowly up to the girl, so as not to scare her. Her head was bent down, though, so she didn't see me.

The cut bled a lot, but I had a vague memory of Dad telling me that wounds on the head bled more out of some reason.

The small girl was breathing hard, and her eyes were wide with panic. "You should go to the nurse. I could help you there if you want," I said, and the girl turned her head toward me. I tried to reassure her by smiling and offering her my hand.

I didn't know why I offered her my hand. It just felt natural to do so.

"I can go by myself," the girl said stubbornly and got up from the bench she was sitting on. When she straightened out, she swayed slightly and I was instantly by her side.

"Come on, I'll take you to the nurse." I grabbed her hand in mine and saw how she squeezed her eyes shut as if she was expecting something terrible to happen. I ignored it and began to drag her to the nurse. "You should press your hand against the wound to stop the bleeding. It's not as good as a bandage, but it'll have to do for now," I said after studying the cut that was still bleeding quite a lot.

"How do you know this?" the girl asked but did as I said anyway. I felt proud that she actually listened to me.

"My dad's a doctor and he's taught me all kinds of things."

"Oh."

I suddenly remembered that I hadn't introduced myself yet, and I had no idea what her name was. It probably felt weird that a stranger came up to her and acted the way I did. "My name's Edward Cullen, by the way." I looked at her over my shoulder and gave her a wide smile. I was pleased when she gave me a tentative smile back. She was very cute when she smiled.

I shocked myself with that thought, but quickly shoved it into the back of my head. I was still waiting to hear her name.

"I'm Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella."

"That's a pretty name," I said honestly. Bella blushed deeply and looked down at the ground while pressing her hand against the cut in hopes of hiding the blush. It was quite adorable, and so I pretended as if I hadn't seen it.

"Thank you," she replied quietly.

We walked the rest of the way to the nurse in silence.

When I opened the door to the nurse's office, she looked up and gasped. "Oh my goodness, Bella, what happened?"

"I fell," Bella instantly answered, but when I glared at her, she fell silent.

"No, she didn't. An older boy threw a book at her."

The nurse looked between us with wide eyes. She glanced at mine and Bella's intertwined hands, and then settled on me. "And who is this young gentleman?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I'm Edward Cullen. I recently moved here."

"Okay, well, Bella? Is what Edward says true?"

Bella looked down at the ground again, something I'd come to understood that she did when she wanted to hide. She gave a small nod, and I exchanged a look with the nurse.

"Thank you, Edward, for bringing her here. I'll take her back to class when we're done."

It was the right thing to do, but when Bella refused to let go of my hand, I decided to stay. "I'll take her back to class afterwards," I said, and sat down on the bed next to Bella while the nurse cleaned the cut.

Bella hissed when the alcohol made the wound sting, and I tightened my hold on her hand. She instantly relaxed again.

When the wound was clean and bandaged, the nurse thanked me for bringing Bella there, and we walked slowly back to the main building, still hand in hand.

Outside of her classroom, Bella finally let go of my hand. "I'll see you around," she said and smiled.

"Yeah, see you around," I replied and gave her my own smile. She entered the classroom and closed the door.

I couldn't stop smiling, and I was still smiling when I entered my own classroom. After explaining to the teacher that I had helped a friend to the nurse, I sat down in my seat and looked out the window.

~~LH~~

**FEELINGS**

**July 1998**

Something had changed.

Whenever Bella touched me, even if it was only while playing catch, a thrill went through my body.

It felt like butterflies fluttered around in my stomach whenever I looked at her, and I got dizzy whenever she talked to me, or gave me one of her beautiful smiles.

Otherwise, I felt fine. When I was at home, I felt normal, like I did any day. It was specifically when Bella was around that I felt these strange feelings that I couldn't explain.

It had started a week ago, when we were going to the beach. I was supposed to meet Bella at the playground, but when she finally came there, she wasn't alone.

Darren had been with her. He was one of our classmates, and I did not like how close he walked to her, or how he made Bella laugh. She looked like she enjoyed his company a bit too much for my taste.

I never mentioned this to her, but I did speak with Darren about it. He admitted that he liked her, and he was planning on asking her if she wanted to be his girlfriend.

I hadn't even hesitated when I told him that she wasn't interested, even though that was a lie. I had no idea if she wanted to be Darren's girlfriend or not, but it did not matter. I didn't want her to be Darren's girlfriend. I didn't want her to be anyone's girlfriend.

She was my best friend, and I wasn't really excited about the possibility that I would have to share her with another boy.

At night, I dreamt about her.

I dreamt that in Darren's place, I would ask her to be my girlfriend. She would say yes, and then she would hug me.

Other times, the dreams were more of the fairytale kind. I dreamt that she was the princess that I had to save, and when the dragon was slayed, we would live happily ever after.

She took the place of every Disney princess there was, and I always woke up before the true love's kiss.

I was probably just sick. Maybe it was the flu that was a bit early this year. I decided that I needed to talk to my Dad about it. If anyone knew what was going on, it was my Dad.

I walked to his office and knocked on the open door.

Dad looked up from one of his files and smiled when he saw me. "What can I do for you, my son, this beautiful summer afternoon?"

It was a subtle question from him. He was wondering what I did inside when the sun was still shining outside.

"Dad, I think I'm sick," I said and his smile immediately disappeared. He stood up from behind the desk and walked up to me. He kneeled and looked at me with worried eyes.

"Why do you think that, Edward? Do you feel nauseous? Are you in any pain?"

I quickly shook my head and Dad's expression changed into a confused one.

"It's just that, sometimes, I feel flutters in my stomach and my heart begins to beat faster. Then I feel just a tiny bit dizzy. It's not exactly uncomfortable. It's just there."

I could see how Dad tried to determine what could make me feel the way I did. It was like he went through every sickness in his head, but none of them matched my symptoms.

"When do you usually feel like this?"

"Usually when I'm outside playing, but sometimes it happens in Bella's house."

Dad's eyes lit up as if he finally understood. "Is Bella with you when it happens?" I nodded and Dad's smile came back. "Then everything's completely fine with you."

"You mean that I'm not sick? Then why do I feel weird?"

"Trust me, son, you're not sick. It's completely normal what you're feeling."

"What is it?"

Dad went back to his desk. "You're an intelligent boy, Edward. I know that deep down you know exactly what's going on. If you haven't figured it out by yourself soon, come back to me, and I'll explain it."

He didn't say anything else, and I left his office feeling more confused than ever.

~~LH~~

**MOVING ON…YEAH, RIGHT!**

**August 2003**

"Don't tell me that you've been dating Amy for a month and a half, and still haven't passed third base," James said while we changed back to our own clothes after PE.

"What's so wrong with that? I'm holding back out of respect for her," I said in my defense. I regretted that I even brought it up.

"That's bullshit, man! You couldn't have found an easier girl than Amy. She's not exactly a virgin, so she doesn't have anything to protect."

Amy might not be a virgin, but I was, and that was something James didn't know. I wasn't about to tell him either. I would never hear the end of it if he found out. I was momentarily grateful toward Amy, who knew that I was a virgin, that she hadn't told anyone about my inexperience.

"It's not about that."

"Then what is it? You know, girls talk, and I have heard a thing or two of how far you two have gone and also about Amy's frustration."

I swallowed with nerves. What had Amy told her friends about our sex life? She had been the first girl I touched underneath the clothes, but she had not complained.

During the almost six weeks we had been dating, Amy and I had done everything that there was in the sexual department, except from having actual sex. It didn't bother me, and I didn't think it had bothered Amy either. I had always made sure to listen to her when she told me what she wanted and how I should touch her, and now I was always able to get her to come, but apparently, that wasn't enough for her anymore.

James smirked. "Apparently, you have very talented fingers." He wiggled his fingers in front of my face, but I hit his hand away.

"Knock it off, man."

"I won't until you tell me what's going on. I know that Amy wants sleep with you, so why won't you?"

I didn't know how I was going to explain it to him that it didn't feel right. It had absolutely nothing to do with my respect for Amy. When we were together, she knew exactly how to get me worked up, and she also knew how to get me off.

The main reason for my hesitance was my lack of romantic feelings for Amy. She was a very attractive girl, sexy and confident, but I just did not feel it; probably because a certain best friend of mine had already captured my heart.

My feelings for Bella had not cooled off at all since that summer five years ago when I finally realized what was going on with me. They had only developed into something stronger, something that scared me at times because I didn't think it was possible to have such strong feelings for another person.

Of course, no one but me knew about these feelings. I hid them out of a reason, too. Having known Bella since we were eight had made me an expert in reading her face and body language, and it was painfully obvious that she had no romantic feelings for me at all.

In the beginning, I had been hopeful that she would see me in a different way if I dropped little hints about my feelings for her. Sadly, it had backfired on me and it had now become an internal joke between us that we probably would marry each other one day since no other would reach up to the standard we had created by being with each other.

When that plan didn't work, I became almost desperate, so in eighth grade, I went so far as to take Tanya, a girl who'd had a crush on me for months, out on a date to see if I could evoke jealousy in Bella. It hadn't, and now I was stuck with an obsessed Tanya that always begged me for another date, even now when it was official that I was dating Amy.

So, I had practically given up. Nothing would ever happen between me and Bella, and it was when I accepted that that Amy became my girlfriend. I was trying to move on.

Sadly, as my hesitance revealed, it hadn't worked so far. I knew that deep inside of me; I hesitated because Amy wasn't the girl I wanted my first time to be with. I wanted it to be with Bella.

With the risk of sounding like a girl, the first time was supposed to be special. Not something you just got out of the way.

James still tried to get an answer out of me, but I ignored him and walked out of the dressing room. However, his parting words did not escape me.

"You need to get laid, man! You're too uptight! How Bella can stand you is a mystery to me!"

I shook my head in annoyance and walked to my new car. One of the perks of turning sixteen during the summer was that you had a car in the beginning of the school year. I was one of the few in my year that didn't have to rely on the parents anymore.

When I spotted my car, my heart started to beat faster when I saw who was leaning against the body. She looked so cute with her wavy hair back in a ponytail, her jean shorts and orange top. Just looking at her made my entire being ache.

Before I reached the car, I rearranged my features into a simple friendly grin. "Hey, you sexy-thing! How was your day?" I greeted her like I always did.

"So, hot-stuff finally decided to leave the dressing room. What took you so long? Did you have to re-apply your makeup?" she responded and I laughed. I just loved how sassy she was with me. All I wanted in that moment was to lean down and kiss her senseless, but of course I didn't do that.

"Well, you know it takes a long time to look this good," I said and winked.

"Then I won't complain since I'm the one that gets to look at you."

"And you're free to look as much as you want."

We continued like this, and I offered to drive her home. When we turned in on her drive-way, she turned to me. "Oh, I just remembered! Pizza and movie night at my place this weekend. Dad's going on a two-day fishing trip, so I'm home alone."

Several scenarios that ended in various different ways entered my head. Usually when Bella and I hung out, we had other friends like my sister or our parents around. This would be one of those rare occasions when we were completely alone. Anything and everything could happen then.

Then I had to go and remember that I already had plans for the weekend; with Amy. I wanted to groan with frustration when I realized that, but I didn't. What was wrong with me anyway? I was practically having fantasies of Bella and me hooking up when I was still dating Amy. That was just wrong.

"I'm afraid that I can't. I have plans with Amy," I told Bella truthfully.

"Oh," she said and I got some sick satisfaction at hearing her disappointed tone. "Well, invite her too. We can make it into a slumber party. Invite Alice and some of the guys as well."

"Not this weekend," I said. It might sound weird, but I really didn't want Amy and Bella to hang out and become friends. It would only make me feel worse if the girl I loved and my girlfriend started to like each other.

Bella interpreted it differently though. A wicked glint lit up her eyes. "Oh, is this weekend The Weekend, with a capital W?"

I looked away from her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure, let's pretend as if that's true for a moment. Okay, well, I won't interfere with those plans. I'll see you tomorrow at school, lover boy." With that, she exited my car and I pulled out of her drive-way feeling utterly embarrassed.

~~LH~~

I couldn't believe that I would actually do this. The nerves made my hands sweat and I had to take several deep breaths to calm down before I pulled out the condom from Amy's purse.

My heart was beating a mile a minute, but I did not show it outwards how nervous I was. Amy would make it out as me being excited, which I was in a way, but my entire body still felt restless. I knew it was because I didn't really want to.

I mean, of course I wanted to, I'm a sixteen years old guy, but I didn't _want_ to.

Still, I was going to do it. It had been the last drop for me when Bella had practically encouraged me to have sex with Amy this weekend. Even though it wasn't her intention to hurt me, and there had been nothing she could really do about it, she had when I finally realized that nothing would ever happen between her and me.

It was time I tried to move on from my feelings for her once and for all, and if having sex with another girl didn't help, nothing would. If this didn't work, I would just have to accept the fact that I would be unhappily in love with my best friend forever.

"Edward? Are you coming back up here, or would you rather stay on the floor?"

I looked over my shoulder at Amy and swallowed thickly when I saw that she was sitting up on her bed, her naked breasts unashamedly exposed.

She was looking at me with a small smile grazing her lips and she curled her index finger to lure me back. I took one last breath and then climbed back up on the bed.

I was glad I wasn't completely naked yet, because so far I'd only succeeded in getting a semi-erection, and I needed some more time to shed myself of all the nerves and really get into the act.

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, so I was glad that Amy had some experience, otherwise this would only have been awkward.

I placed the condom on the bed next to me, and suddenly, everything went very fast. Amy captured my face with her hands and mashed her mouth onto mine with force she'd never used before. She seemed rather impatient, and that theory was very much strengthened when she started to stroke me through my boxers.

When she felt that I wasn't completely hard, she pulled back. "Don't be nervous, Edward. This first time will be very quick, but we have all night. I'll teach you everything I know about sex."

She leaned forward again and started to nibble on my earlobe. Electrical waves shot through my body at the feeling, and more blood travelled south when she ran her small hands down my arms and then up over my stomach and chest.

"There you go," she whispered, her mouth still by my ear. "I believe you're ready to play."

She leaned down and grabbed the condom in her hand before she pushed my boxers down over my hips.

Being completely naked made my heart beat with double pace and I could actually hear it as I tried to focus on the girl in front of me.

Amy had given me both hand jobs and blow jobs since we got together, but feeling her take me in her hand and roll the condom on almost made me faint. I think it was a mixture of my nerves and my blood that continuously went south that caused me to feel so light-headed.

Amy quickly removed her own underwear before she lay down on her back and pulled me down on top of her and between her legs.

Lying skin against skin with Amy was amazing, but the heat that radiated from her body, not to mention from her center, was almost too much to bear.

My dick was already twitching because he knew what was about to happen and he was impatient.

"You know what to do, Edward."

I swallowed down my saliva again before I answered. I hadn't spoken in a while so my voice was quite raspy. "I'm sorry, I really don't."

Amy shifted her hips so that my dick was actually touching the softness of her lower lips. I could also feel how wet she was. It was reassuring to know that she actually wanted this.

"Just line yourself up and push in with your hips."

I did as she told me by taking myself in my hand and locating her entrance with the head. She squirmed underneath me and moaned a bit as if what I'd done had pleasured her.

"Yes, like that. Now, just slowly shift your hips forward." She was a bit breathless, but she waited for me to make the move, something I really appreciated.

Probably slower than a sloth moved, I entered her and the tightness and warmth that enveloped me from all sides caused my own body temperature to rise.

I felt my pulse in my entire body, and I really tried to support my weight on my arms, but at the moment it felt almost impossible. I couldn't determine what was up and down. The only thing I could really focus on was the sensational feeling of being so tightly enveloped in her warmth.

I closed my eyes and let out a low groan. I felt how she wrapped her legs around my waist and pushed me in even deeper. She was pulsing around me, and it only enhanced the feeling. One second, I think she became even tighter.

I could already feel my impending orgasm, but I tried to hold it back. I wanted this feeling to last longer.

"Pull out and then push back in, Edward," I heard her whisper as if she didn't want to disturb me.

I blindly did what she said until I couldn't take it anymore. I felt my balls tighten a second before my orgasm hit me while I was deep inside of her.

My arms finally gave out and I collapsed on top of her.

I couldn't remember much more after that, so I think I fell asleep. I know I dreamt of mahogany hair and chocolate brown eyes; of a different set of small hands running up and down my body.

I woke up with a start when I felt a hand grab me underneath the covers. I opened my eyes and saw Amy smile widely at me. My dreams had made me hard, a fact that obviously pleased Amy a lot since she was once again stroking me.

"Now that you're no longer a virgin," she said in a raspy voice. "I think it's time that I teach you how much better it can be if you're actually able to satisfy your partner as well."

~~LH~~

I couldn't do this anymore. It was wrong to lead Amy on even further now that it was clear that I wasn't able to get over Bella.

It had been a week since I lost my virginity to Amy and the dreams I had post-orgasm were slowly becoming more vivid. Now that I was slowly learning how to satisfy a girl during sex, my dreams involved me touching Bella. She was moaning my name and begging me not to stop.

Amy had told me that I was making sounds in my sleep and she was wondering what my dreams were about. I always told her that I didn't remember. I felt so much guiltier after saying that, but I also succeeded in distracting her by kissing or touching her.

I had, however, reached my limit now. I couldn't do it. I felt like an ass for treating Amy the way I did. It wasn't fair to her, and it wasn't fair to me either. I needed to break it off as quickly as possible, and that was why I was working up the nerve to walk up to Amy's lunch table and ask her to talk to me.

She was surrounded by all of her friends and they were laughing loudly at something one of them had said. I took a deep strengthening breath before I walked up to the table.

I felt dizzy and my blood was pulsing in my ears, making it impossible for me to hear anything else. My hands were sweating and my mouth felt strangely dry. I desperately needed a glass of water, but I wasn't going to steer off of my path now. I needed to get this over with.

I reached the table and all of Amy's friends simultaneously turned their heads and stared at me. One of them leaned over and whispered in the other's ear and soon they were all giggling. Amy smiled gently at me, as if to encourage me to say what I wanted. She was such a sweet girl and I felt terrible for what I was about to do.

"Could I talk to you in private?"

Amy's friends giggled even louder, but she quickly shushed them down. She gave me a small nod and stood up from her chair. Together, we walked out of the cafeteria. I led her to an empty hallway and leaned against the wall in an attempt to look more confident.

I crossed my arms across my chest and tried to force myself to look at her, but it was a hard task. "Uh, Amy, I don't think we should do this anymore."

"Are you breaking up with me?" Since I still wasn't looking at her, I only heard her, and her voice was nothing like its usually sweet tones. It was venomous and cold.

I finally got the courage to look at her and I cowered back against the wall when I saw her otherwise baby-blue eyes glitter with pure rage.

"I-I'm sorry, Amy. I just don't feel that way for you."

Amy let out a screech and stomped her foot. "You're a fucking asshole! What will everyone say when they find out? I'll be the joke of the entire school!"

"Does what everyone else thinks really matter?" I asked, but that was a big mistake. Amy's eyes were on fire as she slapped me hard across the cheek.

My entire face was burning and tears sprung up in my eyes. That fucking hurt!

"You're a loser," Amy said and strode away from me and back toward the cafeteria.

I remained in my spot, my tears had started fall and the burning had transformed into a stinging that made it painful to blink.

I heard footsteps coming from the direction of the cafeteria, and for a second, I thought Amy was coming back to slap me on the other side of my face as well, but when I glanced toward the sound of the footsteps, I saw Bella hurrying toward me with worry written all over her face.

"Oh god, Edward! I knew something was wrong when Amy came back looking like a storm cloud. Are you okay?" She reached me and tried to meet my eyes, but I refused to look at her. I was embarrassed with my situation, and it felt even worse that Bella saw me like this.

I heard Bella sigh with frustration. "Don't give me that crap, Edward. Tell me! Does it hurt?"

"It feels like someone opened their locker door on my face; does that answer your question?" I bit back. It was uncalled for of me to snap at her, but as I said, I was embarrassed and it made me irrational.

Bella didn't say anything. All she did was to grab my hand and drag me somewhere I didn't know, I still followed. I would follow her anywhere because I trusted her with my life.

She led me toward the boys bathroom, and without hesitating, she entered and pulled me inside with her. A freshman was washing his hands when we came inside, and he gaped when he saw Bella.

"Leave," she said with no room for arguing.

"This is the boys' bathroom," he still tried.

"I said get out!"

The boy quickly dried his hands and scurried out. Bella locked the door behind us before she pulled me further inside toward the sinks.

She placed her hand underneath the tap and started to adjust the temperature before she wet a paper towel. I understood then what she was doing and I rolled my eyes.

"Bella, I'm fine."

"Shut up, Edward. Don't give me any of that masculine shit. You're bleeding, and I'm going to take care of it."

I frowned and looked at myself in the mirror. Sure enough, I had a shallow scratch that was sipping blood. One of Amy's nails must have grazed my skin when she slapped me.

Carefully, Bella brought the wet paper towel up toward my face and pressed it against the scratch. The cold felt good against my cheek, but it stung against the wound and I hissed.

"Sorry," Bella said and pressed it against my cheek again with less force. "So you broke up with Amy, huh?" she said after a minute of silence.

"How did you know?" I asked, confused as to how she could possibly know that.

"I can put two and two together, Edward," she said gently. "Why did you do it?"

I looked into her warm brown eyes as she tended to my cheek and I felt how my heart ached painfully. There was nothing I wanted more in that moment than to tell her how I felt. I wanted to pour my heart out at her feet.

"Bella, I…" I didn't know how to continue.

"Yes?" She lowered her hand away from my face and waited.

I clamped my mouth shut. I wouldn't be able to take her rejection. Instead, I smiled. "Nothing. Thank you for helping me."

She smiled right back at me. "Anytime, Edward."

* * *

**A/N: **I wanted nothing more than to hug Edward while I wrote this! Lucky thing that we know that it ends well! :-D


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